The Global Refugee Crisis

On June 20th, 2017, the world observes the United Nations’ 17th annual World Refugee Day. In 2016, the number of refugees and other forcibly displaced people continued to increase due to “Violent conflict and persecution, compounded by rising food insecurity, environmental degradation, poor governance and countless other factors.” By the end of 2016, the majority of the worlds refugees was coming from the Syrian Arab Republic (Syria), Palestine, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Somalia, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Myanmar, Eritrea, Burundi, and Colombia, respectively.

Numerous conflicts across the globe have led to the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II. By the end of 2016, 65.6 million people had been forcibly displaced from their homes, an increase of 300,000 from the end of 2015.

The following are summaries of the conflicts in the major refugee producing nations:

Syrian Arab Republic:

The war that began in 2011 has become a devastating conflict causing more than 12 million Syrians to flee their homes with the number rising.

Palestine:

It has been 69 years since Israel declared independence, and 50 years since the 1967 War. According to UNRWA data from early 2016, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has created more than 5 million Palestinians refugees, 1.5 million of whom live in refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank.

Afghanistan:

In 2001 following the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, and for nearly 16 years, the war in Afghanistan has continued and displaced more than four million Afghans.

South Sudan:

A civil war broke out in December 2013 and although both sides signed a peace agreement, fighting continues and the situation remains unstable. The UN Special Advisor of Genocide expressed concern of a “potential for genocide.” The situation continues to worsen; by the end of 2016, almost 1.5 million people had fled the country, and 1.8 million peoplewere internally displaced.

Many refugees in the East Horn of Africa migrate through Sudan on their path towards North Africa and Europe. Still, more than 650,000 Sudanese have fled the country and more than 2.2 million Sudanese are internally displaced. Internal conflict and a lack of clean water, food, shelter, health services, and employment further drive further displacement.

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC):

The postponement of the presidential election and conflict among armed groups has exacerbated the situation in the DRC. The DRC hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees, fleeing regional conflict from countries like South Sudan and Burundi. More than 500,000from the DRC have fled and more than 2.3 million are internally displaced.

Central African Republic (CAR):

Almost four years ago, militant groups ravaged villages and murdered villagers, causing over 490,000 to flee the country and more than 400,000 to be internally displaced. The situation seemed to be improving when fighting between militia groups escalated and displaced more persons. Many refugees lack basic needs and face malnutrition.

Forced conscription and human rights abuses has caused over 450,000 Eritreans to flee the country. The Wall Street Journal calls Eritrea “the world’s fastest-emptying nations … that is playing an outsize role in the biggest global migration crisis since World War II.” Eritrea has been in a state of emergency since the war with Ethiopia in 1998.